Literacy Events: Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a presentation, reading, and book signing for a Night of Celebration, Texas STEM, ESC Region 20, for migrant and bilingual students and families in Carrizo Springs, Texas. It was an awesome event.

The week before, I was part of the Día de los Niños/Day of the Children/Books celebration at Plaza Guadalupe in San Antonio. Another great event.

PLAZA GUADALUPE

Black and White Publishing is accepting unsolicited manuscripts. Visit their website for more information and guidelines.

Another publisher, The Innovation Press, is open to submissions.

SchoolWide, Inc., Digital Publishing is also accepting submissions. View their guidelines.

“The literature of America should reflect the children of America.” – Lucille Clifton (Poet)

During April, we celebrate El Día de los Niños, Children’s Day/Book Day, founded by author Pat Mora. For the complete history of this wonderful event, visit: Ms. Mora’s website at: http://www.patmora.com/whats-dia/

In celebration of this event, I will read one of my bilingual picture books at 4:30 p.m. at Plaza Guadalupe, April 29, 2-6 p.m., 1327 Guadalupe St., San Antonio,TX.  Games. Music and more. Come join us!  View video: https://bit.ly/2F5MiEo

LUPITA’S PAPALOTE (KITE)

Here’s another longer interview on “The Magic of Día: A Conversation with author Lupe Ruiz-Flores,” on First Book blog. View video: https://bit.ly/2HoxarS

I was interviewed by Alan Bourgeois of Texas Authors at the Texas Library Association (TLA), April 7, 2018, in Dallas, Texas.  View the brief video:  https://bit.ly/2F7Ob3v

Submissions: Lerner Books is open to submissions for K-3 Nonfiction. Visit their website for more details.

POCKETS is also accepting submissions for their Annual Fiction Contest. The deadline is August 15, 2018.

“A writer who isn’t ‘serious’ isn’t a writer at all.” –E.B. White

Book Festival. If you live close by, be sure to attend the San Antonio Book Festival on April 7, 2018. The festival is going on its sixth year. Hundreds of authors and illustrators (many of them my fellow writers) will be there. And there will be books, books, and more books to buy and get autographed. See you there.

The other day, I listened to this Institute of Children’s Literature (ICL) podcast on the topic: Get Children to Read Your Book. Take a listen to this informative and helpful podcast.

If you’ve been writing and have some material ready to send in, here are some publishers who are accepting unsolicited submissions:

Black and White Publishing.

School Wide Digital Publishing.  

Judy Blume and Author

Innovation Press.

And I’m sure you need no introduction to famous author Judy Blume. Here’s a link to her advice for aspiring writers. Great read!

Find your voice and express yourself. – conference quote

I attended three days (February 22-24) of the awesome 2018  National Latino Children’s Literature Conference in San Antonio, TX. It was held at the downtown University of Texas (UTSA) campus. Keynote speakers, educators, authors, poets, illustrators, and lots of UTSA student volunteers made the conference a huge success. I did a presentation on Writing with Authenticity.

Our mayor, Ron Nirenberg, and his wife, Erika Prosper, also attended. Presenters from as far away as San Salvador and Mexico were in attendance. We are very lucky to have such a literary annual conference in our city.

Upcoming is the San Antonio Book Festival on April 7, 2018, going on its sixth year. It gets better and better each year.  If you’re in the vicinity, make sure you attend.

Writer conferences and book festivals are a great way to get to know others with the same aspirations and passion for books.

Books Empower the Mind—Rafael Lopez, illustrator

Judging Writing Contests. Sometimes we have to give back. In the middle of revisions and figuring out my income taxes, I got a request to judge a middle-grade literature writing contest with a short time limit, of course. Students from all over Texas wrote essays, stories, and poems on a theme provided by the contest. I was truly impressed with the talent and sophistication of the entries. I judged over 40 entries, scored them according to the rules provided, and emailed them back promptly. This is one of the joys of being a writer. I’ve judged other writing contests as well but I am still thrilled to read young people’s stories and their aspirations for the future. These young writers are already making a difference. I feel honored to have read their stories.

SUBMISSIONS

Little Pickle Press is accepting submissions. Visit their website for more info.

Cameron Books is another publisher accepting submissions.

Writing is an extreme privilege, but it’s also a gift. It’s a gift to yourself and it’s a gift of giving a story to someone. – Amy Tan

It’s writers’ conference time again. So many to choose from. But … make sure you research before you spend your money and time attending one of these. I live in Texas where there are many great conferences to choose from. But there are also many throughout the country. What is it that you want to get out of such a conference? How much does it cost, etc.?

SCBWI LA CONFERENCE

Here’s an article by Chuck Sambuchino, author and editor of The Guide to Literary Agents. His post on The Write Life blog addresses many of the questions you might have before you commit to a conference. His topics include: (1) Different types of events, i.e., general writers’ conferences, ones with a specialized focus, and retreats. (2) Cost. (3) What do you want to get out of the experience? (4) Choose wisely.

I’ve attended many local ones plus the national Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) conferences in Los Angeles and New York. They are outstanding. However, some of the local ones are well worth attending as well.

Poem. I just got word that another one of my poems has been accepted and will be published this year in a children’s book of poems. Yea!! This short poem had lingered around for years. I had never submitted it before but someone encouraged me and insisted that it was just right for this particular book. And it was!

Here is a list on Publishers Weekly of the upcoming “most anticipated children’s and YA books of spring 2018.” I am looking forward to buying some of these books.

And if you are ready to submit one of your manuscripts, go for it. Here is the link to the Institute for Writers contest. Visit their site for guidelines.

US Kids Magazine is also accepting submissions. This is your chance to submit your story.

I am reading the book, Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder. It’s got great tips for screenwriters as well as writers.

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island … and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.” — Walt Disney

Oldest Bookstore/Library. Here is a link to pictures of the oldest bookstore/library in Lisbon, Portugal. Interesting, right?

Well, Happy New Year!! I wish all writers and illustrators a fruitful and productive year and success in all that you endeavor to achieve.

I am brushing up on reading and revising some old manuscripts that I hope to submit in 2018. One of my goals is to have some more of my poetry published as well. I do have two publications coming up, though. One is a story for POCKETS magazine and the other one is an essay for a book anthology.

School visits and presentations are also forthcoming so I’m busy setting up a schedule. In the meantime, I took time out to attend the musical play of CINDERELLA at our beautiful Majestic Theater. It was an awesome night.

By the way, my granddaughter made this wooden plaque as a Christmas gift. I love it and put it up on my wall next to my PC. I look at it every day for inspiration.

Until next time …. Keep writing!

“The best ideas will eat at you for days, maybe even weeks, until something, some incident, some impulse, triggers you to finally express them.” – Criss Jami

Just One More Chapter. Well, 2018 is almost upon us. I was reading through my year-long journal and was amazed at how much I had written. Lots of world events plus memorable personal ones with the family. I just started a new journal. I think I still have several blank ones that my friends have gifted me with every Christmas and birthday. They know I love to write, even if it’s about leaves fluttering down from my trees during fall and the magical night of snow we had a few days ago. Some of these writings have turned into poems.

To keep me inspired, my granddaughter made this beautiful sign on wood inscribed with the words, “Just One More Chapter.” I shall hang it up in my office to remind me that we write one sentence, one paragraph, one chapter at a time to get the story done.  Good wishes for 2018! Read, read, read. Write, write, write.

Wow! Where did the year go? Time to take stock and prepare for 2018! Do you have any resolutions related to writing? I do. Keep writing, keep researching, submit to publishers, attend conferences, writing and poetry workshops, and never give up!

An end-of-the year bit of good news. Months ago, I entered a writing contest for a magazine. I had forgotten all about it until I got an email informing me that although I had not won, the magazine still wants to publish my short story in the near future. And they want me to send more. I was excited as I went back to my spreadsheet to see when I had submitted. The story I submitted was in my “old” file and had been rejected a few times so I had filed it away. I resurrected it and now it’s going to be published. Like I said: Never give up!

I already have a schedule: some school visits coming up, a poetry workshop to attend, and a writers’ conference to where I will do a presentation. Plus there’s the Texas Library Association Conference in Dallas during April plus the San Antonio Book Festival in the spring. Already things are happening. Isn’t that great?

I know I’ve mentioned the Book Riot link before on books on writing. Here it is again in case you want to read some of these for the upcoming year.

Have a great Holiday Season and keep on writing and submitting!!

Hi There!

I let my characters do the talking, simple as that. – Terry McMillan